Annie Lowrey, a visionary economic and political journalist, makes complex issues understandable and provides clear solutions. Her new book, The Time Tax, lays out the massive injustices caused by the complex bureaucracies that gatekeep government services, and still finds hope for a better future. She joins us with Ezra Klein.
Annie Lowrey has built an influential career in journalism through her detailed, wide-ranging, and fearless writing. Lowrey has written about the economy and politics as a staff writer for The New York Times, Slate, New York Magazine, and The Atlantic. Her work has touched on global banking systems, the contemporary economics of sex work, and the historical roots of our current market landscape, to name a few. Lowrey’s first book, Give People Money, built a meticulous argument for the implementation of universal basic income, and was shortlisted for the Financial Times and McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award.
In her second book, The Time Tax: How the Government Wastes Our Time and How to Fix It, Lowrey takes her deep understanding of economics and politics to an often ignored problem: bureaucratic paperwork. Lowrey unpacks the ways poor people are disproportionately harmed by needlessly complicated government applications for basic services and rights. She helps readers understand these issues, and provides a clear vision for a better future.
Ezra Klein’s trailblazing career has made him an important figure in political journalism. Klein has been a columnist and editor with the Washington Post, a policy analyst at MSNBC, and the editor-at-large for Vox, which he also founded. Klein’s unique analyses of American current events have made him a leading thinker, whose commentary shapes how we understand the state of the world. He has also published the books Why We’re Polarized and, with Derek Thompson, Abundance. Klein is now a writer at The New York Times and the host of the podcast “The Ezra Klein Show.”
A limited number of tickets include a copy of Lowrey’s new book, The Time Tax: How Government Wastes Our Time — and How to Fix It.
If your ticket comes with a book and you are unable to attend this event, please call Black Bird Bookstore at (415) 742-5203 to arrange for pick-up. Books are available for you to collect at 541 Irving Street in San Francisco up to 7 days following the event.
Lowrey photo by Sharon Lehm